Contact set of an obstacle problem ($\mathcal{C}=\{x:w(x)=f(x)\}$)

The contact set is the region where the obstacle inequality $w\ge f$ is active. On its complement the obstacle supplies no reaction; its boundary is a free boundary, determined along with the unknown solution. A point can belong to the contact set while its contact force is zero, as for a taut horizontal string just touching an obstacle at one point. Thus equality of the gap alone does not imply strictly positive pressure.